IIRC in the movie it was a doll. If it took two people to throw it, it must have been hevier than a doll. So what was it? A body, is that why he killed himself. An illegitimate child?
Lyrics can be found here.
Sgt Schwartz
Ah, but what makes the song so haunting is the enigma of what was thrown.
Bobbie Gentry knows, apparently–from what I’ve read, the first version of the song had more verses, and spelled it all out. I think it was the producer who suggested cutting some of them, and leaving it a bit open to interpretation. Works beautifully, I’d say.
…she recorded a standard blues song, “Mississippi Delta,” with her own unknown “Ode to Billie Joe” as the B-side. “Ode” was originally seven minutes long and explained a lot more about what was thrown off the Tallahatchie Bridge. It also had only her own guitar accompaniment, no lush orchestrations. Quickly Capitol execs noticed the strength of the B-side, so they re-recorded it with strings, cut the length almost in half to give the song an air of mystery and make it more suitable for AM radio airplay, and re-released it as Bobbie’s first single.
It was a watch that could boil eggs placed within its band.
I thought everybody knew that.
It was a sled. A friggin’ sled.
It’s a cookbook.
Can it core a apple?
Another bridge.
(yelling) Stella-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a!
Some mobbed up union boss from Detroit. Jimmy Something.
A cheeseburger with large fries.
The girl had bought herself and Billie Joe a McDonalds each, and they had arranged to meet up on Choctaw Ridge. Billie Jo was late so the girl ate hers while she waited. This accounts for her lack of appetite at dinner.
When Billie Jo eventually arrived the couple had a massive row about BJ’s lack of punctuality. In an uncontrollable rage, BJ threw the cheeseburger (and large fries) off the Tallahatchie Bridge into the muddy water. The girl left in huff. BJ had a fit of remorse about ditching the burger in such cavalier fashion so he jumped into the water to try to save it.
Sad, really.
YMMV.
It was a printout of all of the other threads on this topic from over the years, only a few of which are represented here.
It’s bigger than a breadbox.
Also, it ends with ‘gry’
A Zuni Fetish Warrior, of course.
A Troll.
(It didn’t know whether it was a fully laden African or European swallow…)
The missing dollar.
Her 15 minutes of fame.
A penny which completely failed to break through somebody’s skull.
This is Mississippi in the 60s, right?
One of them “outside agitators?”
(Too soon?)